Opera days Rotterdam

Rotterdam is a cultural capital where more than 120 different cultures meet. The Opera Days bring together the culture of opera with the culture of many others. Within classical opera, many old well-known poems have been transformed into pieces of song, dance and drama for the theater stage. The Opera Days 2019 brought the pieces Laila & Majnun, and Orfeo & Eurydice to life throughout the city and were translated by different cultural backgrounds. Shinji Entertainment was part of both Laila & Majnun, and Orfeo & Eurydice.

The play Laila & Majnun took place on Kruisplein. After Majnun was rejected by Laila's father, he went to live in the wilderness. He felt familiar among the animals. Here the groups were representative of all animals, that of the Dragon, the Monkeyking and the animals of the brass band. Under the guidance of Spoken Word poets, the dragon and monkey king from Shinji Entertainment, together with all the animals of the brass band, were connected together in the middle of Kruisplein.

For the piece Orfeo & Euydice, the parking garage under Kruisplein was used. This symbolized the underworld where Euydice is imprisoned. The Guzheng artist from Shinji Entertainment provided the music that accompanied Orfeo in his journey through the underworld.

Preparation

To prepare for the dragon dance, Shinji's choreographers visited the SKVR in South Rotterdam, where the brass band normally rehearses weekly and now also for the opera days. A special concept, combining a Chinese dragon with a brass band. The interaction therefore also had to be coordinated well in advance. Meanwhile, in the weeks leading up to the opera days, Maison M'elise has been busy making our guzheng player's dress in preparation and the Guzheng artist has started putting together a piece of music in collaboration with the organization.
Spoken word: Dragon & Brass

When Laila and Majnun last meet they pass out. While the messenger Majnun tries to awaken them, they are protected by the animals. The dragon started together with the monkey king on the Kruisplein / station square side and walked to the middle. There they gave their own performance of about 10 minutes. This was then supplemented by the poets of Spoken Word who told the story of Manjun. After the story, all the animals celebrated and the dragon and monkey king went between the brass band and the animals of the brass band.
Guzheng in the underworld

In the story of Orfeo & Euyduce, Orfeo travels into the underworld in search of his beloved Euydice. He is led by the voice of Euydice. The music of the guzheng artist in this piece symbolizes the voice of Eurydice trapped in the underworld and accompanying Orfeo and other dancers. Below an impression of the underworld.

Final

After performing the performance 3 times over the entire day, Pathé was closed in the evening on Schouwburgplein. Here all dancers, singers, musicians and artists came together to bring the entire opera pieces together in one piece and to record a group moment at the end. It was a long day with a lot of preparation and a good atmosphere with good weather! After the performances, the dragon and all the outfits were loaded and all the artists left for the Doelen, where the final celebration was for the participants. There the Shinji members were able to gain their necessary energy by dining and participating in the gala afterwards. A great event with a great ending!